Run
by that weird thing
Summary: He would run and keep running, until the fires of his personal hell and nightmare consumed him with wailing sirens and flashing lights. MMPR S3
1. Run

A/N: I'm thinking of writing this out, it is semi-pre-slash, in that a Ranger is gay, but there's no relationship. It may become a series of how one Ranger gains his life back, over a long period of time. Including a reason for why Rocky didn't travel to the Moon with the other Rangers. They didn't give a reason on the show, so I'd like to write my own version. If you hate it, I'm sorry, if you love it, well, I like warm fuzzies. So please review. Supreme shout out to my number one girl Jo and her awsome editing skills.

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Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers

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Rocky shuddered as he sat on the park bench, he knew, he _knew_ this wasn't going to be easy, but, he had to do it. He had to tell all of them, at once, and then he would run. He would run as far as he could. After all, they'd hate him. Like his dad did, like his mom did, even though she said she loved him every night when she called. He wasn't sure where he'd run to, because he was out of family that would accept him, but he would run and keep running, until the fires of his personal hell and nightmare consumed him with wailing sirens and flashing lights. Rocky drew his knees up, resting his heels on the edge of the bench and holding them there by iron will and strong arms.

"Rocky?" Tommy said, he was holding Kim's hand, and Rocky's heart ached. "You asked us to be here, what's wrong." Their white clad leader had been through hell and back to get Kim, and he clearly wouldn't be letting go of her anytime soon. Rocky wished he could say the same.

Rocky took a deep breath, "When everyone's here," he said softly.

Two pairs of doe-like brown eyes promised him understanding, and they stood there as Billy joined them, "We should move somewhere a little more private," he said, glancing around, "I don't think we would want people to get ideas."

Rocky nodded, and Tommy and Kim led the way back to their favorite picnic table. Adam and Aisha joined them there. Tommy and Kim were sitting on the edge of the table, with Billy to their right, all three of them waiting on Rocky, who leaned against a tree, effectively separating himself from them. "That's everyone," Tommy said, "What's going on, Rocko?"

Rocky closed his eyes and tensed, ready to run. "I just- I had to say this- like a band-aid, take all the hurt at once." He knew he wasn't making sense, but, he wasn't ready to do this. He had to, though, his sister was going to be in town tomorrow and she had sworn to tell all his friends the truth. Rocky had to beat her to the punch.

"Rocky?" Aisha said, reaching for him. Rocky stepped away, ignoring the flash of hurt in her eyes, "What is it?"

"I-I'm gay." He said, gasping the words out. He looked into each of their faces for a moment and then he took off his communicator and dropped it on the ground with his morpher, "for the next red ranger," he said. He turned and ran as fast as he could, tears burning his eyes as he cut through the park, giving his all to reach his present, a beautiful, red Honda motorcycle. He had finally turned sixteen, and the gift had been all he could have wanted from his aunt, the only person in his family who still loved him. He swung onto the bike, jammed his helmet down as cries of "Rocky!" reached his ears, he kicked the bike into drive and shot off, tires squealing and engine roaring.

The tears fogged his vision enough that Rocky didn't see the car until it was too late. Screeching tires, a jolt, and Rocky went flying. Then there was a blur of pain, and nothing.


	2. Stay

A/N: Well, one review so far, and yes, poor Rocky. I'm going to keep writing this because I want to. Just with slightly diffrent points of view for each characters. It's fairly AU from the show, I know, but one guy just can't be that cheerful all the time, and Adam has to see more than what he says. Each of the teens will have something to say, what, I'm not sure. Much thanks to the best editor a guy could have, and the best girlfirend. Luv ya, Jo!

Disclaimer: Power Rangers are sole property of the Mouse with the People Traps. I'm not a mouse, even if I have spent time in...nevermind.

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Adam stared in horror as Rocky went flying from his motorcycle. He had known something was wrong with Rocky, had known for years. His friend had seemed to drift amongst his relatives since he was twelve, staying in this house or that without seeming to notice where he was. Moving to his aunt's home in Angel Grove had seemed to perk him up, for once; his friend had truly meant his smiles and laughter, in stead of acting the part. Especially after becoming a Power Ranger, it was as if the shadows that had once haunted his friend had faded away and he had been free. Then, today, all of his old shadows had been there, he had screamed pain with every gesture, from the way he had refused to join the others, to his unnatural silence, to his moving away from Aisha. Aisha hadn't ever seen Rocky when it was bad, when Rocky's demons had sent him fleeing from everything, to be dragged back by police. Adam had been there each time, had even run with him a time or two. He had seen Rocky through everything, even when he didn't know what was going on. He had offered, and every time, Rocky had refused to accept his friend's offer.

Now Adam knew the name of Rocky's demon, homophobia. He hadn't recognized it when he'd gone over to Rocky's, hadn't understood. Now, he did. "Did you know?" Tommy asked Adam quietly, jarring him from his contemplation. "Adam, did you know about this?"

"No." Adam said, "He was always afraid to tell me. I always knew something wasn't right, especially after he turned twelve, but he wouldn't say." Adam's hands clenched, "He could have told me!" Rocky's betrayal shook Adam to the core, he had shared every secret he had with Rocky, and he'd known Rocky wasn't doing the same, but this? Adam wasn't sure what he wanted to do. Especially with Rocky lying in the street, struck by car in some desperate bid for freedom or relief from nightmares none of them could understand.

"Adam," Aisha said, "this is why he didn't want to go home at night, isn't it?"

Adam nodded, "I don't know what happened, but since he was twelve, Rocky just drifted, sleeping at what ever relative's house he happened to be at. It wasn't until his aunt here, his mother's sister, took him in that he seemed to be better. I hoped, prayed, wished, that whatever demon he'd found in Stone Canyon had disappeared. I guess it found him."

"We should talk to Zordon," Billy said, he held Rocky's communicator and morpher.

"Give me his communicator," Adam said, holding out his hand, "even if you don't want him on the team, we'll need a way to keep him safe until he's able to take care of himself."

Billy put the communicator in Adam's hand silently; it was Tommy who spoke, "Adam."

"Rocky's my best friend, and I'm not going to abandon him." Adam replied quietly. "I leave the rest of you to do what you will." He gripped the communicator and raced down the hill, heading for Rocky. He reached his friend as the ambulance did.

"What happened?" One of the men asked as Adam reached the center of the circle.

"He just pulled out of the park like he wasn't paying attention to anything," a woman said, "I tried to stop, but, he was too close." She was wearing blue jeans and a t-shirt and was crying.

"Does anyone here know him?" The paramedic asked.

"His name is Rocky DeSantos," Adam said, stepping forward, "he lives with his aunt on Hill Street. He's allergic to morphine and aspirin."

"You are?"

"Adam Park. Rocky and I have been best friends since we were in diapers." Adam replied.

"I'm Aisha," Aisha said, stepping beside Adam and gripping his free hand tightly. She glanced at Adam, "Our other friend, Billy, went to tell Mrs. Ramos about what happened. Is he going to be ok?"

"He hit his head hard," one of the paramedics replied, "and he's probably broken a few bones, it's hard to tell." They loaded Rocky into the ambulance, "We're taking him to Angel Grove Memorial."

"We'll meet you there," Adam replied. He backed up as they drove off, and then turned to Aisha. "You don't have to pretend," he told her softly, "his mom does enough of that for both of us."

"Adam, I'm not," Aisha said, "I'm not going to leave Rocky high and dry. Not for anything. None of us are, I think. Tommy and Kim went to talk to Z about what happened to Rocky and Billy went to get Mrs. Ramos. Tommy said it'd be a cold day in hell before he accepted what Rocky did without a full team discussion."

Adam smiled at her, then gestured, "Let's cut through the park, we can get to Memorial faster that way."

The police were questioning people, but Adam and Aisha managed to avoid them and once they were in the park, they sprinted to their favorite teleportation site. In moments; black and yellow beams of light streaked to the command center.

Tommy was facing Zordon while Kim leaned against his shoulder, "That's when he got hit. Zordon, we don't want to chose a new Ranger right now. Not with Rocky like this. We have to talk to him before we make that choice."

"It may be necessary to choose a temporary Ranger, Tommy. Depending on how Rita and Lord Zedd react to what has happened, we may need all six Rangers." Zordon replied.

Adam stepped forward, "Whoever it is will be temporary," he said softly, but with conviction, "or else you'll be finding a new black ranger to." He hit the button on his communicator and teleported to the hospital, arriving in an alleyway that had been their designated place since they'd first had to rush to the hospital for a friend. He hurried inside and up to the desk, "Excuse me," he said to the nurse.

"Can I help you?" The nurse asked.

"My friend was in a motorcycle accident, Rocky DeSantos. I was wondering if you could tell me where I can wait for news. I know about the policy concerning family, but I'd like to at least be waiting here in case something happens." Adam said, nervously.

The nurse smiled, "There's a waiting room just down this hall and to the right, and you can wait there." She gestured the right way, "Is any of his family coming."

"His aunt," Adam said, "as soon as she can get here, that is." The nurse nodded and Adam smiled tightly, "Thank you." He hurried down the hall to the waiting room and settled into the uncomfortable plastic chair until Mrs. Ramos arrived.


	3. Ours

Disclaimer: I do not own the Power Rangers

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Tommy believed in certain things in life, amongst them that his friends knew him to be someone who took his friendship seriously, and was always loyal. He'd learned a great deal about friendship from Jason, who had openly accepted him as a Ranger and a friend mere moments after Tommy had announced his plans to kill him. Of course, there had been a broken spell in those moments, but Jason had put aside everything Rita had told Tommy to do in favor of making a new start with a new friend. As Tommy showered, he vowed that he would do the same thing for Rocky. From the few things that Aisha and Adam had said, almost cryptically, Rocky probably hadn't found much acceptance before, and hadn't expected to find it with the team. As he shut the water off and grabbed his towel, he took a deep breath and vowed that he wouldn't let Rocky's sexuality stand in the way of their friendship.

As he walked back into his bedroom, the phone rang. He hurried down the hall to the upstairs phone and answered, "Oliver Residence?"

"Tommy? It's Aisha," Aisha said, her voice wasn't as down as she'd been before she'd left to join Adam at the hospital.

"Is something wrong?" Tommy asked.

"Mrs. Ramos just arrived," Aisha said, "she spoke to Rocky's doctor. He broke his arm in two places, his leg and ankle as well. Three of his ribs are broken and he's concussed. Other than that, he's fine. They put pins in his ankle to stabilize it, and he's not awake yet, but he'll be one hundred percent. Dr. Ramirez said he was luckier than he had any right to be."

"Thank the Power," Tommy replied softly, "How's Adam holding up?"

"He hasn't moved yet," Aisha said, "As soon as they let him in, I think he's going to give Rocky a piece of his mind. He's not talking to me, but he's taking what happened hard."

"Is Billy there?" Tommy asked.

"Yes, he's trying to get Adam to talk. Tommy, when are you going to be here?" Aisha asked.

"I need to get dressed, and then I'm coming," Tommy replied.

"Dressed?" Aisha asked.

"I needed to think, so I went up against the punching bag. I didn't think the hospital would appreciate my arrival if I smelled like old gym socks, so I grabbed a shower. Kim got snagged by her mom, but she'll be by later." Tommy replied.

"I'll let you go then, but I'll call you if we here anything." Aisha replied and hung up.

Tommy follow suite and walked down to his room to dress in a pair of white jeans and a white button down shirt, he brushed out his hair and fastened it back, then pulled on some white sneakers. As he refastened his communicator to his wrist, it beeped. He closed his eyes, "This is Tommy."

"Tommy, please come to the Command Center," Zordon said, his calm voice not revealing anything.

"On my way," Tommy replied. He punched the button and the world disappeared in white sparkles. When they cleared, he was at the Command Center, "What's going on, Zordon?" He asked, walking to the central portion of the computer banks.

"Billy has informed me of Rocky's condition," Zordon said, "he will be unable to fight for some time. I have a candidate for Red Ranger, but he will require your approval, and the team's. Observe the Viewing Globe."

Tommy turned to look, and the person shown there made him smile, "I don't think there will be objections, Zordon," he said, turning to look at his mentor. "Let me talk to them, though. It may be easier if I made the suggestion."

"Very well, Tommy. Tell Rocky that we are with him, and we wish him well." Zordon said.

Tommy teleported to the hospital and hurried to the waiting room where the others sat. "Guys," he said, walking over and jerking his head. Billy and Aisha stood instantly, but it took Adam a moment to follow. In a private corner, he spoke softly, "Zordon has a candidate for our temporary person," he looked at each of them. "I think it's a good idea."

Billy looked at him and then said, just as softly, "I trust your judgment, Tommy."

Aisha nodded, "If you think he's good, I'll go along, as long as he's only until Rocky gets better."

Adam, his dark eyes burning with some unidentified emotion, nodded, "Remember, I go with Rocky," he said quietly, "I promised him, no matter where he went, I'd be right behind him. If he doesn't come back, I don't come back."

Tommy nodded, "Just tell Rocky that his resignation isn't accepted." He saw a flicker in Adam's eyes, almost of relief. "I'm going to talk to Kim, and I'll bring our back-up by later for you to meet him."

"You aren't going to tell us who?" Aisha asked.

Tommy grinned, "It's a secret until I get back. If you trust me, everything's going to work out fine."

The trio nodded and Tommy left the hospital, hurrying to Kim's house. She was with her mom in the kitchen, and Tommy decided to talk fast, "Kim, everyone's agreed on our alternate for the basketball team, but I wanted to check him with you first."

Kim nodded, "If everyone's agreed, I'm agreed."

"All right," Tommy stepped back, "don't forget to talk with Aisha later, or Billy. I think they're going to wait on Rocky for as long as they can."

"How's Adam?" Kim asked.

"He's taking it hard," Tommy replied, "Aisha thinks he's going to be having a very long chat with Rocky as soon as he can. I have to go; I have to talk with the alternate. Take care."

Kim gave him a quick hug and Tommy hurried out, heading for a safe teleportation spot. He arrived in the Command Center and nodded, "Let's go get him," Tommy told Zordon, "everyone agrees."

"Good luck, Tommy," Zordon said as Alpha input the coordinates for Tommy's next stop.

He arrived just outside a hostel in the evening hours; he checked his place and turned his eyes on the doors. Hopefully, he'd find his target soon enough. It took five minutes for the trio he was looking for left the building. He had a small rock to hand and he tossed it, and snickered when it bounced off the head of the one he wanted. It took them a few moments to notice him in the shadows, and when he gestured them closer, they did so carefully. Tommy waited until they were close enough to hear him speak softly, "We need help in Angel Grove," he said, "and I need a private place to explain why."


	4. Return

A/N: Tiny chapter, for which I apologize, but I couldn't see a good way to transition this, and it's 2 AM, so I'm going to just send a short chapter now, and then send in a longer one from a different pov in a bit. Hope you like!

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Jason and Zack had smuggled Tommy into their dorm room, and now, Tommy was sitting on Zack's bed, while Jason, Zack and Trini sat on Jason's. The room wasn't very big, in fact, it rivaled Tommy's room at home in size, there fore it was practically tiny. Tommy had explained everything to Jason, Trini and Zack, and then he sat back, "Zordon and me know we need a red ranger," he said quietly, "and while normally I would be asking you, Jason, there are a lot of reasons why I'm not. If you replace Rocky, I'm afraid we'd lose him in every way. Then I would pick you, Zack, because you are a very strong fighter and you and Rocky are a lot alike, but again, that could be seen as you taking the spot, permanently, to Rocky _and_ Adam. Zordon and I agree," Tommy took a deep breath, "Trini, we need you. Of all the Rangers, you have the best chance of getting through to Rocky, keep Adam from doing something with poor consequences and I know Kim and Aisha will love having a third girl for however long." He looked at his hands, "Zordon says that you have enough sympathy to Red to do it, as well."

Jason reached over and put his hand on Tommy's shoulder, "I agree with you," he said, "I gave Rocky my place; I don't want him to be summarily kicked out now. I understand everything. I'm no good at the kind of talk that Rocky needs to hear, just, tell him I said to get better and I'm still certain that he's the perfect person to wear the Red."

Zack nodded as well, "I'd be something of a hypocrite to disown Rocky for this," he said quietly, startling Tommy, "give him my best and tell Adam that I didn't pick him to replace me just to have him take off when things got personal."

Trini looked at both boys, then at Tommy, and nodded, "I'll go," she said quietly, "I'll help you, and Rocky, in any way I can."

Tommy sighed with relief, "Thank you Trini." He paused, "I didn't tell anyone who was coming, and they all said that Zordon and I knew best."

Trini smiled, "A little joy in the pain," she said, "we'd best go now and let them know, then I'll have to come back and do the stuff for a stay at home."

"Right," Tommy said, he stood, and gave Jason and Zack hugs, and then Trini followed suit. The pair hurried out of the dorm and into the same bushes Tommy had arrived in. Tommy lifted his communicator, "Zordon, we're ready."

White and Yellow beams of light headed for Angel Grove.


	5. Talk

A/N: I rewrote this so many times to get it right. I hope you like it.

Disclaimer: The idea is mine, but the characters are not.

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Trini sighed, she had been home for a week, and she still hadn't made any progress on her primary goal. Being a Ranger was easy, even if the Red Powers were vastly different from the Yellow Powers she had once held. She had even managed to get Adam and Aisha to talk to her about how they felt about Rocky. Rocky, on the other hand, was proving difficult. He stonewalled her by simply feigning sleep whenever she came by. The first few days, his aunt had tried to chase her off, until Trini sat her down and explained a few things. Like how she wanted to help Rocky and how she was taking extra classes in psychology to be better at counseling her friends. It hadn't been easy, but now, Mrs. Ramos was on her side.

Today, she was making another try at helping Rocky. She walked into his hospital room, and found Adam with him, they were both laughing and she smiled. "Hi Adam," she said, "Rocky."

Rocky turned to look at her, "Trini," he said, "hi."

Adam looked at her a moment, and Trini's smile grew slightly larger, "Adam, Rocky, I need to talk with both of you," she said. At Adam's startled look, she knew he hadn't expected this, but getting Adam involved would be better than going it alone.

"What's up?" Rocky finally asked.

Trini took a seat in the second chair provided by the hospital and looked at them for a moment, "Tommy's still insisting that he wants to talk to you, Rocky, about your choice to leave the team."

Rocky frowned, "My choice, Trini. I don't want to force them to have me on the team."

"They do not," Trini said, "have you not seen them?"

"No," Rocky said.

"Tommy doesn't understand, Rocky. He thought you two were friends, at least." Trini said, "He told me that he learned a great lesson in friendship from Jason. I presume to believe that you both know how Tommy became a Ranger?"

Rocky nodded, and Adam said, "Yeah, Rita turned him evil and gave him a Power Coin."

"When Jason broke the spell," Trini said, "he offered his hand in friendship. None of us were too sure about Tommy, but we followed Jason into trusting him. I think Tommy knows how hesitant we were at first. I remember sitting with Kim, Zack and Billy at Kim's house, talking about it the night after we broke the spell. We agreed that even if we weren't sure yet, we'd be nice to him, and we were. In a matter of weeks, Zack didn't hesitate to spar, Kim was mooning over him, and I was offering him help with dealing with his guilt. We trusted him on the battlefield the day the spell broke, and we came to trust him off it as well. Jason trusted him from the moment the Sword of Darkness was destroyed. Tommy offers you the same friendship Jason gave him. He accepts you, and it doesn't matter to him that you are gay. He placed his trust in you when he lifted the Sword of Light, and you have yet to break that trust."

Rocky looked at Adam, then at Trini, "Why are you saying this?" He asked finally.

"Zordon and Tommy asked me to come back to help you. Yellow Rangers are healers, and my strength is in the mind, and a little bit of the spirit. I accepted the Red Power because it was necessary, but I came here to help you, Rocky."

"Why?" Rocky asked.

"Well, I thought we were friends, and friends are supposed to help each other. I trusted you to be my friend. Don't you trust me?" Trini replied.

Rocky clenched his hand for a long moment, then he nodded, "Yes," he said, "I trust you."

"All right," Trini said, and her communicator went off. "I'll come back tomorrow, and we can talk about something else."

"All right," Rocky said with a smile.


End file.
